1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to games and, more particularly, to games in which the object of the game is to be the first person to obtain a specified collection of game objects.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Games come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, and objectives. There is a type of game, herein referred to as a collection game, in which the object of the game is to be the first person to accumulate or collect a specified set of game objects. For example, in the game of checkers, the object of the game is to collect all of the opponents pieces. In the card game called "war", the object of the game is to collect all of the opponents cards. In the game of "Monopoly" the object of the game is collect the most money and property. It is noted, however, that a collection game does not appear to be available for use in a water environment, such as a swimming pool. In this respect, it would be desirable to provide a collection game that can be played in a water environment such as a swimming pool.
An element in many games that are played is a random selection device. Often the random selection device is a pair of dice or a spinner. Other random selection devices include a randomly shuffled deck of cards. Such random selection devices discussed thus far involve manual manipulation, and a person need not be physically active to use the random selection device. In fact, the person can be seated and substantially inactive to use the random selection device. For purposes of overall health and physical activity, it may be desirable for a person to move one's body around when playing a collection game. In this respect, it would be desirable to provide a random selection device that is used in a collection game that requires a player to physically move around to play the game and use the random selection device.
For a collection game that is used in a swimming pool, it would be desirable if all the components of the game floated in water. This means that the random selection device as well as the objects that are collected should float in water.
A particular object that is used in many games in the ball. The ball is so common, perhaps, because of its characteristic of moving randomly and unpredictably in many instances. In this respect, it would be desirable to provide a swimming pool game that uses a floating random selection device and that uses a plurality of floating balls.
In some collection games, all players compete to collect as many as possible of a single class of items. The winner of such a game will be the person who collects the most items. In other collection games, each player has a designated class of items to collect, and the winner of the game is the first person to collect a complete set of designated items. In this respect, it would be desirable to provide a collection game that employs a random selection device that can be played either to collect the most of a single class of items or to collect a complete set of designated items.
Although it is desirable to have a collection game that uses a random selection device that can be played in a swimming pool or the like, it would also be desirable is such a game could be played on dry land as well.
In a collection game that uses different sets of items to be collected by different players, it is often desirable to differentiate between items in different sets by using color coding of items. In this respect, it would be desirable to provide a collection game that uses a random selection device in which different classes of objects to be collected are designated by color coding of the objects.
When a collection game is played indoors on a table or other horizontal surface, such as a floor, the table or horizontal surface serves as a storage area for the items that are collected. However, in a swimming pool, such a table or horizontal surface is not readily available. Therefore, for a collection game that is played in a swimming pool, it would be desirable to provide a portable container for each player so that the player can store and carry collected items during the course of the game.
Throughout the years, a number of innovations have been developed relating to games that use balls and distributor devices that distribute balls in a random manner, and the following U.S. patents are representative of some of those innovations: U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,989,252, 4,039,193, 4,048,731, 4,094,508, 5,197,735, 5,370,391, 5,393,060, and U.S. Pat. No. Des. 265,487. Although the patents cited above differ in many respects, they share some common characteristics. None of the cited patents disclose a collection game that can be played in a swimming pool, that used floating components, and that uses a floating random selection device that requires a player to move around in a swimming pool to use the random selection device.
Thus, while the foregoing body of prior art indicates it to be well known to use games that use balls and distributor devices that distribute balls in a random manner, the prior art described above does not teach or suggest a collection game apparatus which has the following combination of desirable features: (1) can be played in a water environment such as a swimming pool; (2) provides a random selection device that requires a player to physically move around to play the game and to use the random selection device; (3) provides a random selection device and objects to be collected that float in water; (4) provides a swimming pool game that uses a floating random selection device and that uses a plurality of floating balls; (5) can be played either to collect the most items of a single class of items or to collect a complete set of designated items; (6) uses a random selection device that can be used either in a swimming pool or on dry land; (7) uses color coding to designate different classes of objects to be collected; and (8) provides a portable container for each player so that the player can store and carry collected items during the course of the game. The foregoing desired characteristics are provided by the unique collection game apparatus of the present invention as will be made apparent from the following description thereof. Other advantages of the present invention over the prior art also will be rendered evident.